


Searching for Me

by LittleCityGirl



Series: Chroma!Verse [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-04
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:14:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24541411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleCityGirl/pseuds/LittleCityGirl
Summary: Four months after the discovery of alternate multiverses,  Ink and Error set out on a journey to save their home. Their first stop: DreamSwap.
Relationships: Ink/Error (Undertale)
Series: Chroma!Verse [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1667071
Comments: 38
Kudos: 115





	1. And So It Begins...

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, everyone! Welcome to book two of the Searching for Elysium series. It was really awesome to see everyone's support of the last book, even though it was my first time writing publicly for others to read. The support means everything, so I hope you guys are ready for a wild ride.  
> I do not own the video game Undertale. The credit goes to Toby Fox. I also do not own any of the fan characters, such as Ink!Sans (who belongs to Myebi), Error!Sans (who belongs to CrayonQueen) and DreamSwap (which belongs to OneBizarreKai).  
> Thank you! And enjoy your reading!

Ink leaned over the back of his stool, eye lights switching rapidly between different shapes and colors. He and Error were in Sci's lab, waiting for the scientist to finish a few last minute details. The artist reached into his small backpack and pulled out a sketchbook. This one was brand new, bought specially for this journey they were about to take.

He looked over to where the newly repaired Broomy was leaned against the wall. The brush sat stoically, doing nothing. Ink snorted under his breath.

"Pfft! Don't say that, Broomy! That's rude!"

From across the room where he was leaning back in his chair, Error cocked a brow bone and nibbled on his chocolate. The strings on his drawstring bag tangled around his foot, and he reached down to pry them off. The glitch was trying not to listen to the hushed conversation between Ink and the silent, inanimate brush. When his name popped up in the conversation, however, he paused in his motions, glancing up at the artist.

"What? Broomy, no! I told you, we truced! We've been truced for four months! I know you missed all that, but I thought I gave you the rundown..."

Error sat up. Ink spotted him and caught his gaze. The tip of his rainbow tongue stuck out of his mouth. Error grumbled something incomprehensible. 

Four months had passed since Ink had come to him and asked him on this journey. Four months of slowly regretting his decision. Four months of a _stupid truce_. He would have backed out of the journey by now, but he hadn't for one reason. Geno wanted him to go.

He hated Ink, there was no doubt about it. The artist's only goal was to keep his emotion bottles filled. The only reason he did anything for anyone was because it would benefit him. Error knew that desire well, because it was the same desire that fueled him. So what he didn't understand was why he was still here. Why was he sitting in Sci's lab with a packed bag, waiting to go on a journey into the unknown with _Ink_ of all people? Geno may have been his brother, but that didn't mean that Error owed him anything.

He should leave. He should stand up, announce that he wasn't going on this stupid journey.

And just as he was about to stand up, Sci swiveled around in his seat and handed something to Ink. It was a small, cylindrical tube of metal with a sphere on one end. It looked bit like a microphone, except thicker and covered in wires and metal bits and blinking lights. Error had absolutely no idea what it was. 

Sci answered the unspoken question quickly. 

"This is a portal wand. When you activate this button here," He guided Ink's finger to the small, blinking red light. "It'll activate the wand. You have to type in the coordinates for where you want to go, and boom! The portal will open. But don't type in the coordinates until the button glows green. Understand?"

Ink nodded hesitantly. "Can I...write this down on my scarf? I'm afraid I'll forget."

Error grumped from across the room. "You two keep acting as though I weren't here and listening. If the squid forgets, I'll use the wand."

Sci nodded and returned to his seat. "Good luck, you two. I'll try to keep the whole thing under wraps for as long as I can."

Ink stood up and swung his bag over his shoulder. He reached out a hand and shook Sci's. "Thanks. I owe you a big one."

Sci waved the artist off and turned back to his desk. "Don't worry about it. Just get going."

Error grabbed his own bag and slung it across his back. He and Ink exited the lab and portaled off into the AntiVoid.

"Alright, Error!" Ink turned and placed his hands on his hips."Let's do a quick check to make sure we have everything! I'll start."

The artist dropped his backpack off his shoulder and sank to his knees, digging through his stuff.

"Ok, paint refills, check! Extra clothes, check! Sketchbook and pencils, check! Extra brush, check! Toothbrush and toothpaste, check! Money, check! Sleeping bag, check! And extra snacks, check!"

"Why do we even need to bring anything?" Error grumped, crossing his arms. "Can't you just create everything we need?"

Ink shrugged. "Yeah, but this way is much more fun!"

"This isn't supposed to be fun, it's supposed to be a journey to save the multiverse! Or some cliche thing like that."

"Oh, hush," Ink waved the glitch off. "Check your bags."

Error sighed and dropped to his knees, setting his bag down and rifling through it.

"Fine. Clothes, check. Hygiene stuff, check. Chocolate, check. Other food, check. Knitting supplies, check. Money check."

He sat back and zipped up his bag. "There. Happy?"

Ink nodded, scooping up his stuff and smiling. Error got up and joined him, and together they watched the portal open.


	2. Welcome to DreamSwap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ink and Error arrive in their first alternate multiverse. Things quickly go downhill...

They popped out of the portal in the middle of a bustling market square. Wooden vendor stalls lined both sides of the cobblestone street, and humans and monsters alike roamed. The vendors yelled about their goods and prices, vying for the attention of the shoppers and creating a cacophony of noise. At one end of the street were long rows of houses, and on the other, a huge castle loomed.

All of this instantly made Error feel nervous, and he hunched into himself, pulling his scarf up over his teeth. Was it just his anxious imagination, or were people staring at them curiously? Did that mother really tug her child away when he pointed, whispering in his ear? Did a small, barely noticeable path open up ahead of them, as though the crowd were making an effort to avoid them? Suddenly, Error wished he wasn't so tall. Maybe then he could blend in better.

He realized that Ink was gone. Muttering, Error picked up the pace, shuffling through the crowd and trying to find the short stack without drawing too much attention. As he neared the end of the street closer to the castle, he saw the artist sitting on the lip of a fountain. The fountain spout was a beautiful human woman carrying a jar on her head, out of which water spilled and filled the bowl. The woman was of average height, with medium length hair and wearing a flowing gown. The statue was worn down and covered in lichen, showing years of use, and, hopefully, love.

Error joined Ink on the lip and crossed his arms.

"What are you doing, squid?"

Ink looked up from where he was squinting at the notes on his scarf.

"I'm trying to figure out where to go."

"Well, I don't think staring at your scarf is going to help."

Ink smirked. "I'm looking for any notes about this castle. I feel like I've seen it somewhere before, and I must have written it down. Maybe it was from a dream?" His voice trailed off as he went back to concentrating on the scarf.

Error held back a laugh. "A dream? Since when do you dream?"

Ink looked up again, the tip of his rainbow tongue poking out of his mouth. "Since...I dunno. Since this whole mess started, at least. Why? Don't you dream?"

Error jerked back as though he'd been hit. He quickly regained his composure, although he could feel his voice glitching out. "Well, yeah. But notHing coherent. Just random crap, like Every0ne elSe." He looked down at his lap and fingered the stitches on the sleeve of his jacket, hoping Ink hadn't noticed his discomfort.

But, of course, the stupid squid had. Ink leaned in closer. "Really? Cause I don't think you dream about nothing..."

Error glitched from Ink's closeness, both physically and metaphorically. "I d0n'T kNow wh@t Your t-tAlking about. Let's juSt go finD this oTher Ink!" With that, he grabbed Ink and started towards the castle.

They had been walking in silence for a moment when Error could sense Ink's gaze boring into his back. Disgruntled, he turned around in a huff. 

"What? What now?"

Ink nodded down at their still interlocked hands, a slight look of shock on his face.

Immediately Error yanked his hand away, glitches spreading upwards from his arm. He stepped back several feet, his vision blurring slightly.

"StoP lAugHinG!"

Ink gently wiped a very real tear from his eyesocket. "Sorry!" He cried. "It's just- don't you have serious haphephobia? How did you not notice we were holding hands this whole time?" His laughter started up again.

Error glared at him as best he could while being partially blind. He crossed his arms, waiting both for Ink to stop and for his vision to clear.

Ink's laughter cut off with a slightly muffled screech. Error could hear his sneakers scrape along the ground, as though he were being lifted into the air.

"I-Ink?"

As he stepped forward towards Ink, his arms were pulled tight behind his back and he was tugged backward. He yelped from the sting of close contact. Slowly the glitches swarmed his body and a crash overcame him...

.

.

.

Error woke up to an icy cold wall at his back. Grunting, he sat up, rubbing his eye-sockets tiredly. He had a pounding headache, which was the norm after such a big crash.

As his bleary vision cleared, he could see Ink curled up tightly against the wall, asleep. They were together in what looked to be some sort of small holding cell. The walls were made of cold brick and covered with icky sludge. The front of the cell had a door made of iron bars, looking out into a long dark hall, lit by lanterns every hundred feet or so.

Error glanced back over at Ink. Feeling slightly regretful for some reason, he timidly grabbed Ink's shoulder and shook it. After a few more tries, Ink finally woke up.

"Mh, what?" The squid's eye-sockets fluttered open, revealing pale blue and orange eye-lights. "Oh!" He said, sitting up. "You're awake."

"What happened?" Error hissed, sitting back and taking his hand off of Ink's shoulder. "Why are we in a jail cell?"

Ink shrugged. "Dunno. They grabbed us, you crashed, and they brought us here. I guess I just fell asleep waiting for you to wake up."

From down the hall, a voice echoed towards them. For some reason, Error thought it sounded familiar.

"Are they awake yet?" said the voice.

"Yes, sir," responded another.

"Good." The first voice started walking towards them, his shoes clicking on the tile.

Error glanced back over at Ink, only to see that both his eyelights were pale blue, and so small they were almost entirely out. He was scared.

The destroyer gulped, starting to get nervous again. Ink was hardly ever scared of anything, not even Error. So if the artist was frightened, something bad was going on.

Finally the owner of the familiar voice came into view. He was a tall skeleton wearing a big, fluffy jacket and dress pants. Around the crown of his skull was a small gold circlet, exactly like...

Dream's. This was an alternate version of Dream. So why had he captured them? And why was Ink scared?

Dream came closer and stared at them through the bars. Then, he began to speak.

"When my guards first found you near Mother's fountain, I thought they had found Ink, my second in command, conversing peacefully with Error, one of the most wanted enemies of Justice Reigns. But then, Ink came to me, confused as to our findings. Believing that he'd escaped and was now lying to me, I came down to see for myself whether or not there were still two skeletons down here in this cell. And, indeed, there were. And when I learned that Error had been spotted again, pulling pranks downtown with Cross and Nightmare, I knew something else was going on. So tell me, who are you? And why do you look so much like Ink and Error?"

Error took a deep, unnecessary breath, prepared to tell this Dream the truth about where they were from, but then Ink spoke up.

"He is Error's brother...Glitchy. And I'm his friend...uh..Squid!" 

Error facepalmed.

Dream was staring at them incredulously, as though he couldn't believe what he was hearing. 

"Error's...brother."

The guard who had been talking to Dream earlier came into view. He was a short, stocky bunny monster wearing leather armor and carrying a torch.

"S-sir, if I may," he began, looking slightly afraid, "It is well known that Error has a past that no one knows about, not even him. It's possible that this 'Glitchy' could truly be his brother from his past."

Dream glanced at the guard before responding. "Of course. I had not thought of that. Thank you." With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the guard.

"Now, as for you two..." Dream leaned closer to the bars. "You there. Glitchy, is that right? Are you truly Error's brother?"

Error opened his mouth, about to tell the truth, when Ink cut him off again. 

"Yes, yes he is."

Dream narrowed his eyes. "I should like to hear that from Glitchy himself, thank you very much."

Error sighed, resigned to their new alibi. He didn't normally trust the squid, but the look of absolute terror on Ink's face made him hesitate about being honest with Dream. For now at least, he would play along. Perhaps he could even do Ink one better.

"Yes. I am Error's brother from his past. We're looking for him, because we have some important information to give to him." He just hoped it wouldn't be a problem.

Dream leaned back a bit, reassuming his full height. "Well, since Error is a well known wanted figure here at JR, I am afraid I will have to ask you to disclose any information you are going to give him, so that we may be assured you are not party to any illegal activity."

Error and Ink exchanged glances. After a moment, Ink spoke up. "I'm afraid that this is personal family information. It is only meant to help Error as a person, and nothing about it is illegal." 

Dream sighed and pinched the bridge of his nasal cavity. "You know that I cannot take your promise at face value. Fine, then," he straightened and glared down into their eyes, "If you will not willingly hand over this information, we will have to extract it out of you. Fortunately for you, I am too busy at the moment to oversee this process myself, so it will have to wait. I hope you will use this time to think about your decision, for I will give you one last chance to comply legally. Farewell for now."

On that last note, Dream turned and stalked down the hallway, the sounds of his heels clicking echoing from further and further away as he ascended the stairs to the upper levels of the castle.

Error leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes.

"Oops."


	3. Off The Grid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back in their home multiverse, Dream and Blue discover Ink's absence. Likewise, the Bad Sanses find out about Error's as well.

"Blue!"

Blue jumped in his seat as the door slammed open behind him. Turning around, the skeleton saw Dream hunched over in the front doorway, looking out of breath.

"Dream? What's going on?" Blue's eyelights had shrunken down to pinpricks in fear, and his hand gripped the table tightly.

The prince of dreams straightened, running a palm across his forehead.

"It's Ink! I can't get hold of him!"

Blue heaved a sigh of relief and relaxed his death-grip on the wood. For a moment there, he'd been worried that something more dangerous was going on. Ink went off the grid all the time, so this was nothing new.

Blue patted the seat next to him, and Dream came over and sat down. However, the guardian was fidgeting in his seat, messing with the joints of his phalanges and casting quick, nervous glances around the room, as if expecting some sort of danger to leap from the walls.

"I'm sure he's fine, Dream," Blue began, clasping his friend's shoulder. "This happens all the time. He'll turn up soon."

Dream shook his skull violently. "No, you don't understand!" he cried. "Error's missing, too."

"Well, that's not new, either," Blue said. 

" _Blue._ " Dream stated, grabbing his friend's shoulder and looking deep into his eyes. "You've gotta let me finish."

Blue leaned back in his seat with a sigh. "Ok, ok. Go ahead."

"Yesterday, I was supposed to meet Ink at a cafe for lunch. When I got there, he hadn't shown up. So I texted him, in case he'd forgotten or lost track of time. He didn't respond, so I called him, texted him again, and still no response. So I decided to head to Doodle Sphere and see if he was there and had just turned his phone off or something. When I got there, the door was unlocked, so I went inside and tried to find him, but he wasn't there. Even stranger, his phone was on his desk, and his extra set of vials were missing. From what I could see, it looked like he'd packed up and gone somewhere.

"I decided to see if anyone else had seen him, and went to some of our more common hangout places, like OuterTale, HavenTale, and XTale. No one there had seen him. So, i decided to maybe try the AntiVoid. 

"But when I got there, Error's home area was in the same state as Ink's house. His sewing materials were gone, a few things from his junk pile, and the extra backpack that he had for some reason. Like Ink, it looked like he had packed up and gone somewhere. Blue, I don't know what to do!"

Blue frowned and thought for a moment. If both Ink and Error had packed their things and gone somewhere, the likelihood was that they'd gone together. But they were sworn enemies! What reason would they have had to travel anywhere together? Where would they have even gone to? The more Blue thought about it, the more confused he was.

He realized that Dream was staring at him, waiting for his reaction. He shrugged helplessly, taking a sip of his lukewarm tea. Then, an idea hit him.

"Do you think it might have had to do with the Creator problem?" He asked. Dream seemed to think about this for a moment, his eyelights blown wide.

Perhaps Ink had come up with some sort of plan to save the multiverse, and had dragged Error along with him. But if that was the case, why wouldn't he have told Blue and Dream? Certainly they would have been able to help in some way. He voiced his thoughts to Dream.

"Oh, I hope they didn't leave!" Dream cried. "We need Ink. He's the only one who can even remotely communicate with the Creators. If he's not here, how are we going to do our jobs?"

And then Blue had his answer. 

"That might be exactly why Ink left with Error in the first place. He probably knew that we'd try to stop him if we knew what he was doing." 

"But why wouldn't he take his job into consideration? He knows how important it is!"

"I think he did," Blue murmured. "I think that might be why he brought Error with him. If he'd left Error behind, Error would have had free range over the whole multiverse. Plus, I bet he needed someone to go with. I don't think this journey is one he could do alone. So he probably thought he was killing two birds with one stone."

"Killing- what?!" Dream cried, standing up quickly. "Why would Ink want to kill birds?"

Blue burst out laughing. "It's an expression, Dream. It just means that bringing Error along with him served more than one purpose. Not only would it protect the multiverse from a destructive rampage in Ink's absence, it also allowed for him to have another person with him on his journey."

"Oh,'' Dream gasped, sitting down. "Man, I really have a lot of pop culture references to learn, don't I?"

Blue smiled. "Yeah."

They sat in silence for a moment. Then Dream spoke up.

"Let's go to Sci's. Maybe he knows something."

.

.

.

"Where is he?!" Nightmare slammed his hands on the dining table, an angry glint in his eye.

Cross lurched, gripping the sides of his chair in fear. "I-I don't know, sir. We've looked everywhere."

"Well, look harder!" Nightmare growled. "We need him for this next mission, and I don't plan on him taking a leave of absence."

Horror looked up from where he was slouched in his chair. "With all due respect, Boss, this is the third time we've gone out looking for him. Don't you think it'd be better to just move on without him?"

Nightmare turned on the bloody sans, a dark shadow crossing his face. His tentacles waved menacingly behind him, making him look nothing short of terrifying. Cross gulped, immensely grateful that he was not the subject of that glare. 

"Were you listening to anything I just said? This mission relies on Error."

Nightmare straightened and turned to face the dark stone wall.

"If Error can't be bothered to show for you miscreants, then I suppose I'll have to go myself." The dark prince whipped around, locking eyes with Cross. "Come with me. The rest of you are dismissed for the day."

Cross stood up and followed Nightmare out of the castle. He kept his hands clasped behind his back and his gaze steeled ahead as they walked across the decaying lawn.

Nightmare opened a portal directly into the blank nothingness of the AntiVoid. Cross could see the familiar criss-crossing blue strings over the ceiling and the hammock hanging overhead. 

As they stepped into the portal, the royal guard immediately sensed something was wrong. The beanbag chair was empty, and it was fully puffed out, as though it had been empty for a decent amount of time. The auspicious junk pile was smaller, and things were tossed about as though the occupant had been looking for something. The random backpack that Error owned was also missing, along with one of his blankets. All in all, Cross was very confused. It looked as though Error had packed up his things and left, though to where exactly, Cross didn't know.

Nightmare growled, furious. Cross tried not to shrink backward, as the negativity pouring off of the dark prince was so strong he could practically see it.

Nightmare seemed to take in everything that Cross did and came to the same conclusion. The monster whipped around and stalked back through the portal, with Cross following behind like an obedient dog.

"We need to find my brother," Night muttered. "I have a feeling that he's in the same situation that we are." 

The portal closed behind them with a snap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't been posting as of late! I'm busy with other projects right now, so this has kinda taken a backseat. Also, sorry that this chapter is short. Thanks for your patience! LCG out.


	4. Escape Artists

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ink and Error break out of prison, only to meet some familiar, yet unknown faces.

Ink rocked back and forth, his hands on his crossed ankles as he stared at the floor that was suddenly very interesting. He tried to ignore Error's anxious pacing about the cell. Even despite the lack of strong paints coursing through his body, Ink could still feel the dark blue guilt worming through him. It was really his fault that they were in this mess. If they had just told the truth, that they were Ink and Error from a different multiverse, maybe they would have been allowed to leave. Maybe this version of Dream would even have let them speak to this universe's Ink. Dream had said that Ink was his second in command, after all.

Stars, why did Ink have to be so frightened? Nothing had ever scared him like that before, except for the prospect of being forgotten. But still! The only reason Ink even recognized this version of his friend was because he had been the subject of a few nightmares. But it wasn't like he had done anything horrible! 

Maybe it was just that he didn't understand the story of this multiverse. Every universe back home had its own premise, its own story, its own reason that it was brought to life. Surely the case would be the same here. He just had to figure out what it was, and then he would know which side he was supposed to be on. Then he could separate the heroes from the villains, and he wouldn't have to be so scared of not knowing who to trust.

Oh. So that was why he was scared. He didn't know who to trust.

Then the sounds of the glitch's sandals paused, as he stood just in front of the door. Curious, Ink looked up. Error was fiddling with his pale blue scarf, digging through the folds of the fabric as if looking for something. Ink got up and went to stand next to him.

"What are you do-" "Shh!" Error cut him off. "Someone'll hear you."

Perplexed, Ink did as he was told, watching Error's movements become more and more frustrated. Finally, the glitch found what he was looking for and pulled it out.

Ink's face fell when he realized Error was holding a bobby pin.

"What the hell is that going to do to help us get out of here?" Ink asked, his eyelights orange and red with annoyance.

"Shh!" Error hovered his pointer finger in front of Ink's teeth, glaring up at the artist. "Just trust me." Ink huffed, scowling down at Error's multicolored phalanges.

Impatiently, he watched as Error carefully reached through the iron bars toward the rusted lock that held them captive. He slipped the end of the bobby pin into the keyhole and wiggled it around. To Ink's surprise, there was a click, and the lock fell off into Error's open palm.

Ink stared in shock, barely even registering Error's chuckle of amusement.

"Close your mouth, you look weird."

"How did you do that?" Ink hissed, rounding on the destroyer.

Error stuck out the tip of his blue tongue. "Like I'd ever tell you."

Ink stood impatiently by the door as Error carefully set the lock down on the floor. Tucking the bobby pin back into his scarf, he carefully eased open the door to the cell. Both of them sighed in relief when it made no sound.

The two of them started off down the hallway, looking around for any sign of someone who might find them. Ink wasn't sure, but for a moment, he thought he hears a soft laugh from behind them. A quick glance around proved otherwise. As they carefully sneaked down the hall, they passed an open storage room with tall metal shelves lining the wall. Ink spotted their bags sitting on one of them. He grabbed Error's sleeve and pointed. 

"Look! Our stuff!" The artist ran into the room, quickly pulling their bags down off the shelves.

As he ran back out to meet Error, however, a blaring alarm began to go off.

Error grabbed Ink's hand surreptitiously and ran, not even trying to hide anymore.

They raced up the stairs to the upper levels of the castle, ducking through winding, twisting corridors and fancily decorated rooms. Surprisingly, there were very few people milling about, and the few that did see the escapees ignored them.

As they rounded a corner, they entered a huge room that immediately sparked memories in Ink's mind. The grand staircase and balcony were empty now, but in his mind's eye, Ink could see them crawling with fancily dressed monsters and humans. He remembered Dream and Blue, or at least, this universe's version of them, standing at the top of the balcony together. With a shudder, he also remembered Blue turn and look straight at him, confirming that he could see Ink.

Then the room disappeared in a blur as Ink's face collided with Error's back. The artist promptly fell over with an _'oof'._

Ink rubbed his skull, standing up to see what had made Error stop so suddenly. His eyelights widened.

Error was face to face with....well....Error. Only this Error was wearing a long, dark coat with the hood pulled over his skull, a pale blue scarf, a red t-shirt and black shorts, lace-up black boots, and black gloves. A pair of red-rimmed glasses adorned his face.

There were two other skeletons there as well. One of them was shorter, wearing a ripped-up lavender shawl, a black and white dress shirt and black pants, and purple boots. He also had a gold circlet with a crescent moon wrapped around his skull. It vaguely reminded Ink of Dream's circlet, but who else would have one of those, and with a crescent moon? Of course...Nightmare!

The third skeleton was Cross. Literally an exact replica of the Cross back home. Ink didn't spend too much time thinking about it.

While the two Error's stared at each other in confusion, Nightmare rounded on Ink, pointing a long pole with a sharp crescent moon on the end at his face.

"Look who decided to be out and about today. Come to turn us in to your leader? Come to do your duty like the good little dog you are? Nice outfit, by the way. Is it new?"

Ink threw his hands up. "Woah, woah, I think you got the wrong guy."

"Uh, Night?" Cross stepped forward and placed his hand on Nightmare's pole, lowering it from Ink's face. "Now do you believe me when I say that we didn't set off the alarm? I think these are the guys that claimed to be Error's brother. I mean, look at the resemblance!" Cross waved his hand in the direction of the two Error's, who were still staring at each other.

Seizing his opportunity, Ink stepped out of range of Nightmare's pole while he was distracted. He grabbed Error by the scarf and tugged him away.

"Look," he began, addressing the group of alternates. "We're really sorry to have bothered you, and to have set off the alarm. But we really need to get out of here. So unless you know anything about this universe's Ink, I don't think you can help us."

They started to walk away. Then, as an afterthought, Ink added, "Also, sorry if we got anyone's hopes up, but the whole 'brother' thing is fake. We're not related to Error...not exactly."

As Ink turned around to continue trying to find the exit, he stopped short in front of the commanding figure of a royal guard. He gulped, backing up slowly, Error in tow.

"On second thought...we might be able to use your help."

Nightmare chuckled. "Follow me. I know this castle like the back of my hand."


	5. Twin Objectives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back in our home multiverse, Dream and Blue head to Sci's lab. Unfortunately, they are not the only ones...

Dream stepped through the portal onto the warm, red stones. He and Blue stood together at the entrance, staring up at the smooth steel wall looming before them. Blue stepped forward and rapped on the door. After a moment, they heard the creaking of the mechanisms shifting inside, and the door creaked open, revealing Alphys behind it.

"More of you?" She asked, sounding surprised. Dream and Blue exchanged glances.

From behind Alphys came a shouting noise. Dream's face paled (if possible) as he recognized the voice. Pushing past Alphys, he and Blue hurried inside the lab only to find Nightmare and Cross pinning Sci outside the door to his personal lab. Nightmare was holding the skeleton against the wall with one tentacle, and Cross pointed two sharp knives at his face. Sci squirmed around in Nightmare's grip.

"For the last time, Nightmare, I'm not giving you anything! Ink and Error specifically asked me to keep this a secret, and keep it I will! Now, if you please, fuck off!"

Dream and Blue had ben about to jump in and free Sci, but they hesitated when they heard what he said. Dream carefully came closer, only for Nightmare's second tentacle to fly out and slam Dream against the far wall. Dream let out an "oof!" and dropped his staff. It clattered on the floor, rolling towards Cross, who kicked it farther away, out of Dream's reach.

"What do you want?" Nightmare snarled, turning a cold green gaze on his brother. 

"The same as you," Dream stuttered out, grabbing at Nightmare's slimy tentacle. "We're looking for Ink and Error, too."

Sci visibly paled, and struggled more ferociously. "What is it with you all and those two? You all should know well enough that I, like any self-respecting Sans, never break my promises! You're gonna get nothing out of me!"

Nightmare pushed him tighter against the wall, growling low. "You will if you value your life."

Sci smirked. "You won't kill me," he stuttered out. "I'm too useful, and you know it."

Nightmare snarled, but he knew Sci was right. There would be no point in killing him. Reluctantly, he dropped the other skeleton. Sci slid to the floor, rubbing at his neck and grimacing at the dark sludge on his clothes.

Nightmare then turned to his brother, single eye light piercing Dream's skull. "Now, what to do with you..."

"Let him go!" Blue had grabbed Dream's staff, and held out a sharpened bone in the other hand. Nightmare laughed and was about to retaliate, when Alphys stepped forward.

"Oh, no you don't. Not in here. If you all are gonna-gonna fight, please take it somewhere else."

The two groups exchanged glances, then dropped through a portal together into VampireTale.

Once there, Blue struck at Nightmare's tentacle with the bone, cutting in clean in half. Nightmare shrieked, and Dream fell to the ground. He scrambled to his feet, and caught the staff that Blue threw to him. The two Star Sanses took up a defensive position, staring down Nightmare and Cross. The two groups circled each other eerily for a moment, eyes locked.

Cross, after getting a quick nod from Nightmare, made the first move, teleporting behind Blue and swinging his knife at the back of his skull. Blue leapt out of the way, bringing his bone up to block the next swing. Back and forth they went, bone hitting knife with a scraping noise, until finally the knife cut the bone clean in half. Thinking quickly, Blue teleported away and summoned a line of bones. They struck up from the ground, racing quickly around Cross, who had to leap into the air to avoid them.

Meanwhile, Dream was being chased by Nightmare through the trees. His eye lights darted left and right, trying to find an escape route, or an area where he could gain an advantage. He cursed Ink's absence mentally, before skidding to a halt and letting Nightmare race right by him. Quickly turning his staff into a bow, he fired off quick shots through the air, most of them slamming into different areas of Night's body.

Nightmare howled in pain, turning around and extending his tentacles out, attempting to stab Dream. Dream quickly teleported away, leaving Nightmare behind.

He reappeared in the area where they had first arrived, searching for Blue and Cross. Sure enough, there they were, ten meters away. Cross was sitting on top of Blue's ribs, holding a knife over his chest. Dream darted over and pushed Cross off. He grabbed Blue's hand and opened a portal to UnderSwap, dropping the two of them through it and onto the snow.

The laid there in silence for a few minutes, breathing heavily, tiny snowflakes falling onto them and melting at first contact with their warm bodies. It took Dream a moment to realize they were still holding hands.

He glanced over at Blue to see him laying quietly, eyes closed, blood trickling down one cheek. Carefully Dream reached up with his free hand. A soft green glow emerged, spreading healing magic into the cut. Blue subconsciously leaned into the touch, kind of nuzzling Dream's right hand. They laid for a few more moments, before Dream finally sat up and dusted himself off, face hot.

Blue sat up too. Neither of them said anything, just simply stood up and walked over to Blue's house to clean up and think.

.

.

.

Meanwhile, across the multiverse, Nightmare and Cross dropped back through a portal into the DreamTale castle, bypassing the front door entirely. Nightmare waved off Cross' worried remarks and ascended the stairs to his own bedroom. Once there, he sat down on the floor and began painfully yanking Dream's arrows out one by one. His goop quickly covered up the resulting holes, but the pain still lingered, like an annoying fly.

Nightmare leaned his skull back against the wall. That fight had taken a surprising amount of energy out of him. He really should head to a negative universe to recharge, but he was too exhausted to even move.

Downstairs, he felt Cross stumble into the kitchen. Tracking his aura, Night felt the silent skeleton pull something out of the fridge and eat it, if the resulting spike in energy and health was to be believed. Perhaps once Cross was done, Nightmare could eat, too. Going down there now would be to vulnerable to risk.

Meanwhile, downstairs in the kitchen, Cross leaned back in his seat, taking another bite of his leftover taco. His eyes travelled unbidden to look at the ceiling, where Killer's room was. He debated for a moment whether going to talk to him was worth it, and then said 'to hell with it.' Finishing off the taco, he slowly walked up the grand staircase in Nightmare's open throne room.

As he reached Killer's door, he heard a clatter from inside, followed by a 'shit!' Snickering, Cross knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Cross stepped into the room to find a very grumpy Killer sitting cross-legged on his bed. His controller was on the ground, and a death screen was showing on the TV. Casually, Cross sauntered over and laid down next to Killer, his head propped up on the pillows.

"What game you playing?"

"A stupid one," Killer growled, crossing his arms. 

"Let me try."

Killer handed him the controller. Within a few minutes, Cross had beaten the level. Killer stared at him, mouth agape.

"Cheater! How did you do that?" Cross shrugged and handed the controller back to his teammate. The rest of the evening was spent with Cross trying to teach Killer how to play the game, and Killer failing miserably.


	6. Who Are You?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ink and Error finally explain what they’re doing here.

Ink and Error raced after Night, Cross, and the other Error, whose name was apparently Myriad. Down this hallway, up the next, around this corner, cut through this room, and suddenly they were around back of the castle, in a beautiful garden.

Ink couldn’t help but slow down a bit, eye-lights wide with awe. The garden was huge and perfectly manicured. Small pine trees, trimmed into perfect cones, stood in straight lines at the edge of a concrete path. Thick bushes adorned with colorful flowers sat hunched together in raised beds. A ginormous labyrinth completed the picture, tall leafy walls rising up above Ink’s head, not like that was an achievement. Ink wasn’t that tall.

He followed the others through the labyrinth, quickly losing his way. He was grateful for Nightmare’s apparent familiarity with the garden. If he and Error had to run through this alone, they would have been easy prey for Dream’s guards. As it was, Ink could still hear said guards’ footsteps coming quickly up the path behind them. 

But as they turned right towards what Ink could only assume was the center of the labyrinth, he heard the guards turn left instead. Could they not hear the groups’ footsteps? Confused, Ink decided not to think much about it.

Finally they ended up in the center. A lone birch tree stood on its own raised bed, surrounded by wooden benches with gold plates on them, engraved with names and achievements. Ink skidded to a halt next to Error, who was breathing heavily. The artist could see his chest rising and falling through his sweater. 

He looked to the other three, who were also trying to catch their breath. Nightmare pulled out a staff that looked startlingly similar to their own Dream’s, save for the tip which was a crescent moon rather than a star, and Ink felt a sudden pang of homesickness. 

From across the way, Ink suddenly noticed a second entrance to the center, and even worse, three of the guards raced out of it. On instinct, Ink pulled out Broomy, and got into a defensive position. Error took a single hand out of his pocket, eye lights darting back and forth between each guard, as if wondering how quickly he could take each of them down.

Surprisingly, neither Cross nor Myriad moved to defend themselves. Instead, their eye lights were trained on Night, who was opening a portal somewhere. With a jolt, Ink realized it looked eerily similar to the Omega!Timeline back home.

Nightmare waved Ink and Error over, and the five of them jumped through the portal, closing it quickly behind them.

A quick glance around told Ink that this was, in fact, the Omega!Timeline. He saw a small neighborhood of houses, each completely unique from the rest. Some had three or four floors, while others were short. Some had garages, some had car ports, some didn’t even have driveways. Although, only a few had cars, which seemed pointless as there were no roads. Some of the houses were brick and stone. A few of them were wood, painted with normal house colors. Several of them were bright and colorful. Many of them had fairy lights or Christmas decorations, despite the fact that, at least back home, it was May.

And the people! Ink was surprised about how many there were. Normally, coming to the Omega!Timeline made him feel achingly guilty. All those who lived here had lost their universes in one way or another, and often they were the only survivors. As guardian of the multiverse, Ink felt responsible for letting these characters down. After all, at least from the outside, he was their only protection! Dream and Blue had their own jobs to worry about. If a universe was destroyed, it was Ink’s fault for letting it be so.

But a small voice in the back of his skull reminded him that this was not his Omega!Timeline. He was not responsible for these particular lives. It dampened the guilty feeling a little bit. Even so, he knew it was primarily absent because of the paints. Absentmindedly, he reached down and began fiddling with the bandolier.

His gaze traveled over to Error, who was pointedly looking down at the ground. His feet shuffled back and forth, and he had pulled his scarf up over his teeth, as if to try and hide himself from view.

Ink had the sudden and unexplained urge to squeeze his shoulder, or pat his back, or hug him, anything to make him feel better, even though Ink didn’t know what was wrong. His mind tried to give him an answer, but he ignored it, for better or for worse.

A hand grabbed hold of his shoulder and spun him around, and Ink found himself staring into the face of Nightmare. The skeleton looked angry. The artist began to sweat a little, trying to lean away from the other skeleton’s piercing stare.

“Night, stop. You’re making him nervous.” This from Cross, who came over and gently pulled Night off. Nightmare came willingly, but his penetrating stare did not leave Ink’s face. Ink rubbed his shoulder self-consciously.

“Hey, uh...” Ink clicked his tongue. “Thanks. For the rescue, I mean.”

“Who are you?”

The sudden question caught Ink off guard. “Who...who are we?” His mind fumbled for an answer. Luckily, Error picked it up.

“He’s Ink. I’m Error. And before you say anything else, we are not the same Ink and Error of this multiverse. We’re from a different one.”

This answer seemed to satisfy Cross, but Myriad and Night still looked unconvinced. 

“Why would you say you were Myriad’s brother, then? How could you have known that would work as an alibi?”

Here Ink knew what to say. “We didn’t. Dream told us we looked like....well, the Ink and Error from this multiverse. We just kinda...went with it. We didn’t know it would work, honest.”

Night scowled. “Why did you lie to Dream, then? If you’re looking for information on this multiverse’s Ink, he’s your best bet. Ink literally works for him.”

Error scoffed at the suggestion. “Do you really think we’re that dumb? Anyone with two brain cells to rub together can tell that bastard isn’t what he says he is. I don’t trust him.”

Nightmare smirked. “You know what? You two are smart. I can respect that.”

As Night started to walk towards one of the houses, Ink looked at Error. If Ink had a soul, he knew it would be hammering out of his chest. The relief coursing through his body was so powerful it hurt. Error didn’t trust this Dream, either. But that made sense. Of course Error would be better than him at knowing who to trust. He, unlike Ink, more likely knew how to play different sides. 

Ink always stuck with just one point of view. It was easier for him to handle. Having too many things to think about all at once made his brain hurt. And having a horrible memory didn’t help. But Error, oh Error. Now _he_ was smart. Error shared slightly similar goals with the Nightmare from their multiverse, but their goals differed enough that they were not always on the same side. Error was excellent at lies and deceit. Ink had often experienced this firsthand.

Or had he?

He felt a headache coming on. Quickly he banished these thoughts from his mind, instead drinking some yellow and green paints. At least now, he had an inkling of an idea what the premise of this multiverse was. From what he knew, it seemed as if it were some kind of Swap multiverse, which would make perfect sense from a creative standpoint.

Night’s voice from up ahead cut off Ink’s thoughts.

“Come on. You can’t exactly get info from Dream now, since he’s kinda after you and all, but we might be able to give you something.”

Ink smiled gratefully and stepped inside. The house looked pretty much like a normal Sans house. There was a green couch in the living room, a TV on the wall, the kitchen in the back, the dining table to the left of the door, but unlike a normal Sans house, there was a door to the basement.

As Ink took in these details, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that Myriad had approached Error, a look of both slight hope and overwhelming disappointment on his face.

“So...you’re not my brother? Just another version of me?”

Error nodded, looking slightly uncomfortable.

Unable to help himself, Ink jumped in. “If he were your brother, wouldn’t you know? I mean, I’m sure you’d remember if he were your sibling, right?”

Now it was Myriad’s turn to look uncomfortable. “I-I mean....well...it’s complicated. You see, I actually don’t have a whole lot of memories past, like, two years ago. I’m not sure why, and the few memories I do have are complicated, and....well, I don’t really want to go into detail.”

Ink must have looked as taken aback as he felt, because Error jumped in with a very obviously forced smile. “Nah. Don’t worry about it. The squid here is a little too curious for his own good.” This last part was said through gritted teeth, with a glare sent in Ink’s direction. Quickly Ink came to his senses, rubbing the back of his skull. 

As soon as Myriad headed to the kitchen and no one else was looking, Ink scribbled down onto his scarf what bits of the conversation remained in his already fading memory. This multiverse had just gotten a bit more complicated than a simple character swap. He only got a few sentences down, though, because Nightmare returned from the kitchen, looking expectantly at the two of them.

Ink and Error exchanged glances. Error cleared his throat. “Yes?”

Night sighed. “We know your names, that you’re from a different multiverse, and that you’re here for information about this multiverses’s Ink. But we don’t know why any of that is, and we’d like to, please. I think you owe us at least that from saving your tailbones back there.”

Ink smiled. “Well, um...it’s hard to explain. I guess I should-“

Error cut him off. “Let me.” Ink shrugged his shoulders and stepped back, letting him take the reigns. Ink hated having to explain things anyway.

“Basically, back in our multiverse, the creators disappeared a few months ago, and-“

“Woah, woah, woah,” Cross cut him off. “What are ‘creators’?”

Ink jumped in. “They’re the...beings that create universes! On any normal day I can communicate with the, through...not words, or thoughts, just like....sensations and feelings. Basically they create universes, and my job is to help them.”

“And my job is to destroy them.”

Ink looked up at Error, surprised that he would say that here, among strangers. That was a sure-fire way to destroy what small semblance of trust they’d gained so far. So Ink tried to salvage the situation.

“Well, it’s less of a job and more of just a thing you do.” Shit, that didn’t help! “Not that you always do it, and he’s not going to destroy anything here, and the nuance behind that is complicated...” Inks voice trailed off. Why did his mouth run so much faster than his brain? Stupid squid!

Error was trying to suppress laughter. Ink glared at him until he continued where he left off.

“So basically, the creators stopped talking to us- to him. Which means new universes aren’t being created. And...yeah.”

“I don’t have a soul,” Ink interjected. “So I use these paints to feel.” Here he lifted his bandolier off of his chest. “These paints come about from the creation of universes. It’s literally liquid creativity. The problem is, lately the effects have been dulled down. Basically what that means is that the creativity of the creators has also gone down. Without it, no new universes will be created, and...eventually we’ll...” His voice trailed off. It was still too terrifying to say out loud. 

“Eventually we’ll be forgotten. Ink will lose all emotions and semblance of self, and the universes will die out,” Error helpfully supplied.

Ink shuddered. For the first time, the full force of what they were facing and what they had to do hit him. He became almost dizzy with a terror he didn’t know he could feel, especially with weakened paints. He stumbled back just a bit, his back hitting the wall. Error glanced over at him....was that worry crossing his face?

Ink’s thoughts darted back and forth. They could be forgotten. He could lose who he was. He wouldn’t be able to feel ever again. The multiverse would die. Error would win. Why was Error worried? Ink was his enemy, his nemesis, the antithesis of his ideals and his plan. His stomach churned, and he fought the urge to vomit. That would not be polite. 

“So you need our help....why?”

Ink gratefully took the out, standing straighter and taking a deep breath. “If we learn of other ways to communicate with creators, we can find out what’s wrong and fix it. And we can maybe find another way for me to feel, just in case plan A doesn’t work.”

Nightmare looked lost in thought. Cross had entered the room, a leftover taco in one hand. He looked nonchalant, cool, composed, not at all scared or worried. 

Myriad, however, looked confused.

“But...if Ink helps create universes...and Error destroys them....doesn’t that make you two enemies? Why are you working together?”

This time, neither Ink nor Error knew how to answer.

“I mean...” Ink made a desperate attempt. “We are enemies, but we made a truce for this one mission.”

“But why?”

“Because if anyone gets to take out the multiverse, it’s me. I’m not taking any shortcuts.”

Ink jolted at Error’s response. A tiny niggling in the back of brain doubted that was true, but when Ink thought about it, knowing Error’s ego and disastrous plan, it was very likely. The artist was conflicted about so many things in that moment.

“You look tired. How about you two stay for a few days? We’ve got an extra bed in the basement.” Night opened the basement door and led them both downstairs.

Inside was a single twin-size bed, made up nicely with plain cream-colored sheets and duvet. A single bedside table made of mahogany wood stood beside it, and a closet was nestled in the far wall. 

Nightmare exited the room, closing the door behind him. Ink let out a grateful sigh as he dropped his bag on the floor next to Error’s. Just as he was about to pull out some pajamas, he had a realization.

“How are we both gonna stay in one bed?”

But Error was already one step ahead of him. Within a few moments, the glitch had rigged a hammock to the ceiling, made of his signature blue strings. Ink mentally face palmed at his own stupidity. He’d seen Error’s nest in the AntiVoid many times, and the destroyer slept in a hammock just like this.

Satisfied, Error slipped into the strings, not even bothering to take off his sandals. Ink rummaged through his bag, pulling out a random t-shirt and shorts. He slipped into the closet to change.

After re-emerging and setting his day clothes back in his bag, he flopped down onto the bed, staring at the popcorn ceiling. He wanted to fall asleep, but his racing thoughts wouldn’t let him.

Had Error really meant it when he’d said the only reason he was here was so that he could be the one to destroy the universes in the end? It really did make sense, but something about it didn’t sit right with Ink. After wrestling with it for a few more minutes, he swallowed his pride and spoke up.

“Did you mean what you said earlier? About how the only one who gets to take down the AUs is you?”

There was no response for so long Ink thought that maybe Error was asleep already.

“No.”

Inks eyelights shifted to exclamation points.

“Then...why’d you say it?”

“To get us out of the conversation.”

“Then why are you really here? Why’d you tag along?”

More silence. 

“Geno wanted me to. He...thought this might change something between us, or some shit like that.”

Error sat up and glared down at the artist. “But don’t count on it. Soon as we get back home, soon as we fix this mess, it all goes back to normal. Understand? This changes nothing.”

Ink stared up at him in the darkness. He wanted to cry, but for what reason, he didn’t know.

He turned onto his side to hide the watery tears.

“Yeah. Of course.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo, munchkins! Sorry I didn't update for, like, a month, so have an extra long chapter to make up for it. I'll try to start updating at least every two weeks, if not more often. Again, really sorry for the wait!


	7. Tea and Coffee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next morning.

_Emptiness. Just plain, white emptiness._

_Ink hated empty spaces. They made him feel so alone, so isolated, so forgotten. He reached around his back to find Broomy so they could get out of here, but his hand only hit the rough fabric of his scarf._

_A quick check of his body revealed two things: one, Broomy and his paint vials were both missing. They weren’t on his body, and they weren’t anywhere around him. Two, he was floating. Technically, he could do this all the time, but in recent years he hadn’t much. There hadn’t been a reason to, and sometimes it was just plain annoying. So why was he floating now?_

_Oh, wait._

_The memories of the previous evening flooded back, of him and Error asleep in the basement of their friends’ alternates. Of Error’s words about how this whole journey ‘changed nothing’._

_Ink must have finally cried himself to sleep. So this must be a dream. Realizing that made him feel a whole world better._

_But why was he dreaming of this? There was nothing here, no one to talk to, nothing to witness. This kind of dream seemed pointless. Maybe it was of those incoherent dreams that Error had mentioned having._

_Then, a bubbly puddle of ink started to seep from the ground about ten meters away. Ink’s mind instantly went to his own portals. He’d never seen what it looked like on the other side, but he wouldn’t be surprised if it looked something like this. If that was the case, was this another version of him?_

_This looked nowhere near the castle, and he didn’t know if the anti void existed in Dream!Swap (that was what he’d dubbed this AU, since it looked as though Dream and Nightmare had swapped sides), so it probably wasn’t the same Ink that was Dream’s second in command._

_His questions were answered pretty quickly, as a figure splashed up out of the puddle. They landed face-down on the ground. They only stayed that way for a moment, though, as they sat up and twirled, like a giddy child._

_The figure did indeed look like Ink. He was wearing a paler version of Ink’s old jacket, with a red ribbon tied around the right sleeve. Underneath he wore a white sweater with ink stains, and a pair of cargo shorts. All his clothing seemed pale or pastel, though Ink wasn’t sure how he could tell that. Then, the figure turned around, further cementing Ink’s belief that this was another version of him._

_His eye lights were bright yellow, though they held no fancy shape. The dark circles under his eye sockets stood out in contrast to the pale bones. An ink splodge, almost identical to Ink’s, was on his lower right cheek._

_From behind this alternate, a glitchy portal opened, static flowing off of it. Ink’s mind went to Error’s portals. Then, as the artist expected, an Error-like figure walked through. He was wearing a red t-shirt with a jacket tied around his waist, a pair of basketball shorts, and sneakers. Red rimmed glasses adorned his face, similar to the ones Error wore back home, and had a long black pen strapped to his back. If anything, the pen reminded Ink of an alternate version of Broomy. In fact, everything about this figure besides the incessant glitches and the black bones screamed ‘Ink’._

_As per usual, the guardian couldn’t hear what the two figures were saying. He could, however, see the glitchy one run up to the excited one, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him around as though angry. The excited one pushed the other away, tapped his shoulder, and ran as though he had started a game of tag. The glitchy one threw up his arms in exasperation, and began chasing after him._

Ink’s eyes opened up to the white popcorn ceiling of the basement. He laid quietly for a few moments, feeling his rib cage rise and fall with each breath.

Sitting up, he rubbed his head, looking up at Error’s hammock. A lump of blankets covered the glitch, making him look like a pile of knitting that someone’s grandma had been working on.

Shaking his head with a small chuckle, Ink’s thoughts wandered back to the dream. If those two had been other versions of Ink and Error, did that mean there were even more multiverses? Despite being a constant assistant of the Creators, Ink couldn’t think of any other ideas for multiverses. A Fell multiverse? That didn’t make sense for the one he’d just seen. Another Swap? If so, what kind? Did Ink and Error swap places? But how would that work?

Ink gave up and grabbed his bandolier to begin the day. Pulling out all the vials except for black, he set them up in order in front of him. Out of habit, he mentally listed what each one represented as he laid them out. 

Red was anger. Orange was bravery. Yellow was happiness. Green was calm. Cyan was fear. Blue was sadness. Purple was disgust. Pink was lust. And black, which he left in the bandolier, was hatred. He couldn’t remember the last time he had used that one. 

He took a small plastic shot glass out of his bag. Carefully, he poured half a capful of each vial (again, minus black) into the glass, careful not to mix them together. Taking a deep, unnecessary breath, he tipped the entire glass into his mouth and swallowed. His eye lights quickly raced through almost every color and shape imaginable as the rush of emotions surged through him.

He looked back down at the uncorked vials. Gently, he picked up the orange one and stared into its depths. It looked normal. Shaking his head, he capped the vials and lined them all back up in the bandolier. 

Seeing as they had nowhere to be, Ink decided he would let Error sleep a little longer. He grabbed his day clothes back out of his bag, absentmindedly changing in the middle of the room instead of in the closet as he had the night before. 

The stairs creaked under his feet as he ascended to the upper floor. No one else appeared to be up. Ink wasn’t sure if he could take food or coffee out of the kitchen, but he wasn’t hungry or thirsty anyway, so it didn’t really matter. He stood in the living room, looking like a lost puppy. 

Just then, Myriad came downstairs, dressed in a t-shirt and leggings. He yawned, stretching his arms above his head. Ink waved awkwardly.

“Good morning!” Myriad was cheerful, despite it being...Ink looked at the analog clock under the TV. 7:30.

Only 7:30? For some reason, the thought of the whole day stretched out before him like that made him anxious.

Myriad entered the kitchen and began shuffling through the cabinets. He pulled out a can of coffee grounds and began preparing a pot.

“Do you want any?” He asked, looking pointedly at Ink. The artist thought for a moment, then tentatively asked, “Do you have any tea?” Despite not having been very thirsty two minutes ago, he kind of was now. He still wasn’t hungry, though.

Myriad looked thoughtful. “Um, I actually don’t know. We don’t really....I can check.” He began pushing aside things in the cabinet.

Ink stepped into the kitchen. “If you don’t have any, it’s fine-“ he started, feeling uncharacteristically nervous. Something about this day felt wrong. Ink couldn’t pinpoint it. He chalked it up to being tired and the weird dream he’d just had.

“Aha!” Myriad pulled out a small box of chamomile tea. Opening the cardboard lid, he exclaimed, “There’s three left! I’m pretty sure it’s fine if you have one; we don’t really drink tea anyway.”

“Oh, uh...thanks.” Ink took the box. Myriad pulled a teapot out from a shelf and handed it to Ink. The artist found himself settling into a familiar rhythm as he prepared the tea. This was how his mornings normally went at home.

As he sat down at the table and took a sip of his tea, his earlier anxiety ebbed away. The warmth of the drink on his tongue was calming. Taking a peek at the box, Ink read a short paragraph about he ‘comforting and calming effects” of chamomile tea. That made sense.

Just then, Night came downstairs, wearing a dark sweatshirt and jeans. He looked grumpy, giving only a quick wave at Ink and grunting at Myriad. Ink cleared his throat and took another sip of tea, feeling awkward and unwanted. He suddenly wished that Error were awake. Even though he wasn’t sure they were friends, the presence of someone familiar would make the whole situation less weird.

Night stole a mug of coffee from the pot, coming to sit down across from Ink. The artist stared down into the swirling liquid, stirring the steeping bag.

“So, what did you want to know about Ink? The one from this multiverse, I mean.”

Ink looked up, his mind blanking. It took him a minute before he said, “I mean...well. Is, uh, is he...soulless too?”

Night nodded. 

“Oh. Then, uh, how does he feel things? I mean, I use my paints, so what does he do?”

Night seemed to think for a moment. “Well, I’ve seen him with paints before, though I can’t remember if he drinks them or not. For the most part, at least after he joined Dream, he uses Dream’s powers to feel. Y’know, his aura?”

This statement shocked Ink. At home, both Dream and Nightmare had auras that they could use to affect the moods of others. Dream rarely used his, saving them for the most dire of situations only. He had said to Ink before that he didn’t want to make anyone feel something they didn’t want to. He never wanted to use his aura without consent, and so he never did. Ink did not know, however, that the aura could be used to help him feel. He wasn’t sure Dream would be okay with using it like that, though. As for Nightmare, he didn’t know if he used his.

But here, in this multiverse, Ink leaned into Dream to feel anything. While that was definitely a stable solution, it also left the user at the whims of the owner of the aura. That was something Ink didn’t want to do. So that wasn’t a solution for the whole paints problem.

“What about the Creators? Do you know if Ink communicates with them?” It felt so weird to use his own name in a sentence.

“Well, seeing as we had never even heard of the Creators before you got here,” Night started, leaning his cheek on his hand. “I doubt Ink and Dream know anything about them.”

Ink sighed, staring back down at his tea. This was getting them nowhere. 

His mind wandered back to the other multiverse in his dreams. Perhaps...if those were other alternates of Ink and Error, they would have more useful information to give them.

“I think....I’m gonna go talk to Error. Thanks,” Ink said, standing up. Night nodded, taking a sip from his mug.

Ink descended the stairs back to basement. Stepping inside, he set his tea down on the bedside table, calling Error’s name. When the glitch didn’t respond, the artist tried again. And again.

Finally Ink walked up to the hammock and shook the lump of blankets. Wait...lump of blankets...

Ink yanked the blankets off the hammock, revealing...the blue mesh of the bottom. 

Error wasn’t there.


	8. Just One Moment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back in time two hours, we get to see Error’s side of things.

#### Two Hours Earlier 

“Psst!”

The noise startled Error out of his slumber. He sat up quickly, nearly falling out of the hammock. The ‘blood’ rushed from his head, and static filled his vision, though not the kind that accompanied the glitches. He laid back down with a groan.

“What time is it?” He murmured, sitting up again, though slower this time. Taking a glance at the analog clock on the bedside table, he read the time 5:02. Really?

Ink was still asleep, curled on his side facing away from Error. So who had whispered, then?

A little nervous, Error slipped out of the hammock, casting his gaze around the room for any hidden figures. He opened the door to the empty closet, the bathroom, slid back the shower curtain, and sighed. Nothing.

Perhaps it was just a figure of his imagination. He wouldn’t be surprised, and if that were the case, he would just lay back down and go to sleep. 

A second, more confusing yet just as likely answer popped up in the back of his mind. Error wrestled with it, standing in the middle of the room awkwardly, eyes shut. 

It was too likely to ignore. So he slipped into his sandals, casting one final glance back at Ink to make sure he was still asleep, and prayed to the stars that the Cross here slept just as late as the Cross back home.

Luckily, he made it out the front door without a hitch. Pulling the folds of his scarf up over his teeth, he slipped quickly through the silent streets of the Omega!Timeline.

Where was he going? Error had no idea what had gotten into him. This was stupid. This was pointless. He was just going to get himself lost, be out here for way longer than he meant to be, and make Ink worry.

But why did it matter if Ink worried? Because he would be stupid, and get himself hurt or break the portal wand or something. 

Error’s thoughts went back and forth, between worrying about Ink, then trying to explain to himself why he was worried, to ignoring the worry, to getting even more worried. This was dumb, and Error now had a headache for his troubles.

He was so distracted he didn’t even realize where he was until he tripped over something. His face crashed into the ground, and he cried out, digging his phalanges into the dry grass and pushing himself up. He rubbed a hand across his nasal cavity, and it came away bloody.

How long had he been walking for? His mind said maybe ten minutes, but his sore feet said at least an hour. He mentally chastised himself for not bringing sneakers like Ink had. At least those would have been less strenuous to walk in.

He looked around for what he had tripped over. A large, flat rock, apparently. How had he not noticed that?

In fact, how had he not noticed himself crossing into a different universe entirely? This was not the Omega!Timeline, both because it looked vastly different, and because the code had changed. When had he crossed over? And where even was he?

He was sitting on his knees on a large, grassy hill. The plant life was dead as dead could be, and there were so many jagged, scattered rocks it was a miracle he hadn’t tripped earlier. What looked to be an abandoned, ruined village sat off some distance away, and there was so much dense fog that Error had to pull out his glasses to be sure he was seeing it right. 

He turned his skull to look behind him, and he nearly rolled backwards down the hill. Suddenly, he knew exactly where he was.

The dead, lonely Tree of Feelings sat behind him. The top half had been cut down, and dead sticks lay scattered everywhere. The tree itself was half rotted too, with thousands of tiny purple mushrooms sprouting from the base. The wood of the tree was a dull gray color, and the wood on the inside of the branches, which Error could see because it had been cut off, was gray, as well, not the vibrant green of a living plant. All in all, Error could tell something terrible had happened here. At least the Tree of Feelings back home was still alive.

Why would the Creators tell him to come here?

“Error!”

Error turned around, rising onto his feet to see Ink running up behind him. The squid bounded up the hill, forgetting for just a moment about Error’s adversity to touch and wrapping his arms around him in a hug. Error sucked in a breath, preparing himself for the sting of the glitches, but they never came.

For a brief moment they stood there, locked together. The warmth of Ink’s bones pressed against Error’s, and he realized he was shivering. Ink’s rib cage rose and fell against the glitches’ own. 

This was weird. But, though Error would never admit it to anyone, it wasn’t bad.

“Oh! Shit, sorry!” Ink let go, jumping back with a nervous look on his face. Error waved him off, instead turning to Nightmare, who was standing at the bottom of the hill some eight yards behind them. Night looked nervous and sad, as though reminiscing about something.

Ink seemed to notice the scene behind Error, because his face went pale, if that were possible. “Holy...”

He turned to Night, a look of pitying horror on his face. One eye light was a pale cyan diamond, the other a dark blue raindrop. 

“What happened?”

Night looked uncomfortable.

“Um...it’s a long story. A while ago, Dream managed to convince the whole village that he could rid the multiverse of negativity. To do this, he consumed all but two of the apples on this tree. He gained all sorts of powers, and established Justice Reigns, an organization dedicated to making the multiverse as positive as possible.

“Myself, Cross, and Error, we’re like...local hooligans. We just cause mischief and mayhem to annoy the crap out of Dream. It’s not much. This tree...just died after. No one comes here anymore, as far as I know.

“As for me, Dream wants to get rid of me. I am the guardian of negativity, after all. Can’t have any negativity around here.”

Ink looked thoughtful. “What happened to the other two apples?”

“I ate one, and fed the other to Kevin.”

Ink and Error exchanged glances. “Who’s Kevin?”

Night smirked. “My pet chicken.”

Error wanted to laugh, but wasn’t sure if it was appropriate, so he didn’t. Instead they stood there awkwardly, the tension in the air as thick as the fog that surrounded them.

Ink moved forward and squeezed Night’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

Night shrugged him away and turned around. “We should head back,” he muttered. Ink and Error exchanged wary glances.

“We’ll be right there,” Ink called after him.

Error cocked a brow bone. “We?”

But then he saw Ink’s face. Both his eye lights were pale blue tones, and he looked deflated, hunched in on himself. He had his arms crossed to keep out the bitter cold. Error came to his senses once again, and felt his bones rattle under his thin coat. 

“We need to move on soon. I talked with Night this morning, but I wasn’t able to get anything from him, either about the paints or about the creators. The Ink here doesn’t have anything to do with either of those things. But,” Here Ink paused, a little nervous.

“There’s another multiverse with swapped versions of the two of us. Just us. I think we should go there next.”

Error shrugged. “Works for me.”

Ink seemed to be wrestling with something else. Error was, too. 

Now that his thoughts were less jumbled up, Error could feel the biting sting of the wind more than ever. He also knew that the air in the Omega Timeline was still crisp. He was cold, and from the looks of it, Ink was, too. 

The hug earlier hadn’t been that bad. And Error couldn’t remember the last time he had been able to touch someone without glitching. Despite popular belief, while he did have hapephobia, it came about mostly because of the glitches. Not only did they look strange, they stung. It was like being bitten by mosquitoes repeatedly, all along the bone.

Not only did he want to hug Ink because he was cold, the story Night had just told them left him feeling despondent. He felt sympathy, even though he didn’t know why. And from general observations, when people were sad, they turned to other people. 

Normally when Error was sad, he took a nap. He didn’t have anyone besides Geno to lean on, and even then, he was so used to being alone that he didn’t care to ask for help. Just ignore it, and it’ll go away eventually.

So, why now, could he not bring himself to walk away? Was it because Ink was still standing there, too?

Was it because Ink had let Night leave the two of them alone? Was it because, unless Error’s instincts were horribly wrong, Ink needed a hug, too?

Either way, they ended up crushed together, arms wrapped tightly around one another. Error could feel Ink’s breathing again, and it was comforting. Warm, too. He realized for the first time that Ink was taller than he looked. His head came up almost to Error’s shoulders. That was new. Error was sure that, just last week, he had been at least a head taller? Guess not.

After a few minutes, they pulled back, quickly stepping apart. Error shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket, feeling the yellow blush creep across his cheekbones. Ink’s face had gone significantly rainbowed, as well.

“Never speak of this again?” Ink asked tentatively.

“Agreed,” Error responded, more than happy to oblige. That was the weirdest thing to ever happen between them, and they had been in many weird situations together.

They began walking back to the Omega!Timeline silently, their thoughts tangled. But neither were willing to untangle them just yet.


End file.
